Marianne's 100th Birthday Party - Berkeley Event Photography

AnnMarie and I have known each other a long time. A long time. We sang together in high school (and middle school, I think?) and she's someone I've always admired for her tenacious spirit, great sense of humor, and of course her amazing singing voice!

So when she messaged me on Facebook and said that her grandmother Marianne was turning 100, I knew I had to be there. I only hope that I can make it to such a ripe old age with so much vigor!

Her birthday party was at Le Bateau Ivre in Berkeley, a wonderful French restaurant with amazing service. Here are some photographs of it all. Enjoy!

I think everyone should be required to wear a lei on their hundredth birthday. I know I will!

AnnMarie, you're awesome! And you have the best smile ever.

I loved all these kids! Super cute.

One of the best things about the party was the huge mix of ages there. From 1 to 100, most ages were represented!

Some delicious food.

I can't really remember what this facial expression meant. :)

Time for toasts.

And time to blow out the candles! Fortunately there were a few less than 100.

Mmmm, delicious cake.

And some photographs of the family.

Thanks AnnMarie and Marianne (and Adela, Aurora, Steve, Valerie, Richard, Paul, and Bill . . . did I forget anyone?). It was a wonderful party. Hopefully these photos will help you all remember it for a long, long time.

Happy Caturday!

Tiger

JoeJoe

Caturday is brought to you by handsome furry brothers Tiger and JoeJoe, both fun and playful and extremely adoptable. Go check them out at San Francisco Animal Care and Control! They're not being adopted out as a bonded pair, but I really think they should find a home together; they're just such a good team.

Today dawned a bit rainy and gray, but hey! It's still a Saturday. The perfect kind of day for cozying up with someone you like (especially if they're as nice as these two guys) and watching a movie or reading a good book. Last night, Evan and I went out on a date (first time in a long time that we've set aside the time to do that, and it was so much fun!) and we had some Vietnamese food for dinner and saw Skyfall in the theater.

I have to say, I just loved the whole experience, and I really enjoyed the movie. Say what you will about Bond films, I think this one ranks up at the top with Casino Royale and some of the early Connery movies. Plus, visually it was just a treat to watch. Such beautiful cinematography. I find that if the cinematography is good, I'm usually able to overlook a film's other flaws, even to the point of bad acting and bad writing. If the movie isn't visually appealing, though, it has to be really well written and acted to keep my interest.

Come back for more shelter cat photos on Monday!

I Had an Amazing Thanksgiving Weekend, How About You?

A portion of the SF skyline. This photo has nothing to do with this blog post. I just liked it. Shot on film, Fuji Acros 100.

Seriously, it was pretty epic. Aside from the new recipe I tried out that almost poisoned everyone (how was I supposed to know that two tablespoons of ground pepper is totally different from two tablespoons of cracked pepper? Apparently, it's a lot spicier) and the bear that made its way into the house it was a very relaxing weekend.

We sat around, ate pie for breakfast, wished for snow, and went for not-too-strenuous walks. And did I mention the pie for breakfast? Mmmmm .  .  .

Certainly, one of the highlights was when a baby bear wandered into the foyer while we were barbecuing one evening. We all banged on pots and pans to scare it (and probably its lurking mama bear) off, but really I just wanted to invite it in and pet it. So fluffy! And definitely fat enough to survive the winter.

So yeah, it was a wonderful weekend. And now it's hard to get back to the daily grind (witness how long it took me to write a blog post about the weekend). I hope you all had an equally relaxing time.

Street Cats

Saw these two in Zanzibar.

Christmas Cards!

It's become a bit of a tradition now, I guess, and I'm certainly not one to complain. What started off innocently last year as a marriage between a dress-up party and a photoshoot seems destined to continue, with each year getting a little crazier than the last! What can I say, Barrie and Ed certainly seem to know how to have a good time!

This year, we added new roommates John and Seth to the mix. They got into the mood in no time flat.

Of course, furry family members Killer and Lupe were included (whether they really wanted to be or not - thanks for your patience, Killer!). And Maggie and Megan joined again.

What we ended up with was almost too much holiday spirit to be contained in one room! Luckily it was a pretty big room.

And of course, I couldn't help but leave you with another shot of the furballs.

*Want your own Christmas/Holiday card photoshoot? It isn't too late to get it all done before the holidays! Contact me to plan it out!*

How I Feel About Film Right Now

Kodak Tri-X

This photograph almost perfectly illustrates my current feelings about shooting film (you know, that floppy plastic tape-like stuff). When I saw these heart-shaped leaves while we were in Africa I visualized what a great image they would make: the lighter new leaves against the background of the older leaves, a gentle arc, and as always, three is a powerful number in a photograph. So I took the picture and I waited to see the result.

And when I did, I'll admit I was a little underwhelmed. For me, part of the problem (maybe the whole problem) is certainly the black and white - in real life these leaves were such a vibrant green, and of course that doesn't translate at all in this image. But what's also missing for me is the detail that was present in the original. All the veins and texture that were present in the leaves themselves are nowhere in this photo. And I think that's the other part of the problem, the fact that I'm not familiar enough with the film I'm using to know what it's going to photograph well and what it's not.

So far, I'm not a big fan of Tri-X, even though I know that many other photographers swear by it. Fuji Acros, on the other hand, I absolutely loved almost all the shots from the one roll I've used of it so far.

So black and white continues to kind of elude me. And so whenever I stick a roll of it in my camera, my film shooting speed crawls to a standstill. I feel like it's very subject specific - great for people, patterns of light and shadow, cityscapes, and unpredictable for other uses, such as landscapes or, for example, photos of leaves.

So I guess I'm kind of asking a question here. Does anyone else out there shoot film? Black and white film? And if you do, do you have any insights?

I'm all ears here.